This interview highlights Betty Hillmon’s upbringing, career, and interactions with African American folk singer Bessie Jones. Through her reflections about “Miss Bessie” and the musical style she embodied, Betty reveals a nuanced understanding of this vernacular singing tradition. An accomplished cellist, Betty was a member of the 1971 cohort to study in Hungary through Alexander Ringer’s Kodály Fellowship Program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, and she looks back on her life in a manner that is insightful, hilarious, and relevant. 

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Created and hosted by Megan Ankuda
© OAKE 2021

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